


i can go for miles if you know what i mean

by rach_08



Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-01 18:38:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10927695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rach_08/pseuds/rach_08
Summary: trini likes to hustle rich kids at pool. sometimes they hustle back.





	i can go for miles if you know what i mean

**Author's Note:**

> [this](https://fiddleabout.tumblr.com) wonderful person edited this for me and deserves all the things

“No.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“No.” Trini wavers in her refusal because Zack is a little shit, yes, but he’s charming and has promised to pay for all her drinks. Granted, “all of her drinks” will likely be about two before she hits passed-out drunk, but she’s broke and finals just ended and she needs a night off. Hustling some frat boys at pool on Zack’s tab is sounding like an almost good idea.

“Fine.”

“Dude, this is going to be awesome. I want half for doing all the talking.” 

"You can have 25%."

"Deal."

Zack is skipping. Actually skipping along the sidewalk. They’ve been roommates for two years and friends since high school, but Trini likely won’t ever be used to the nearly-constant dancing. Or the bad ideas. At least one of them had left them stranded in a different state wearing a wig and a tutu between the two of them. Zack’s mom had grounded the both of them, even if she graciously never told Trini’s parents.

Tonight, though, is a good idea.Tonightthey’re going to strut (shuffle reluctantly) into a dive bar and gently relieve some overconfident white boys of their trust fund money. They do it all the time.

Okay, so they’re just done it the one time, but it had worked beautifully and only one person had accused them of hustling and they'd been sober enough to sprint all the way home. 

They walk into a sports bar that Zack had found and are immediately greeting by excessive enthusiasm for sportsball, a jukebox bleating top 40 music through dying speakers, and the unavoidable odor of stale beer. Trini stops in the doorway at the sight of significantly more sports paraphernalia then she’s ever wanted to see in her life, but Zack grabs her before she can back out.

“One game.” Zack pouts and Trini can never say no to puppy dog eyes, even (maybe especially) when they’re coming from Zack.  _Fine._ She’ll stay in the sportsball bar.

“I want a beer and a water and quarters.” And to be able to go home with five crisp twenty dollar bills smelling of frat boy underestimation, but she's flexible on that part.

Zack slides up to the bar and is immediately served.  It’s his superpower and, frankly, annoying as hell because when it’s Trini’s shout no one ever notices and she has to practically climb over the bar to get any attention.  Except for that one memorable occasion when the bartender asked if he should call her mother to have her picked up and she is totally not responsible for punching him at _all_. What college student hasn’t been barred from a bar. It’s basically a rite of passage; could have happened to anyone. And it had definitely added to Trini's carefully cultivated aura of "go away".

Zack comes back with beers, a roll of quarters and what looks like lipstick on his collar. He grabs her arm and the bartender glares at her over the taps and oh, good, this is going to be one of those nights where he flirts around the bar and she does all the heavy lifting.

“Let’s go.”

Trini is excellent at pool but that doesn't matter much at sports bars, where all that matters is being more sober than your opponent. It helps to be a tiny girl who looks like she just wants to impress her tall philandering boyfriend. Zack is crucial to that part; every time someone seems suspicious that she's having no problem making all her shots he drapes an arm around them and drops an “isn’t it adorable how even girls can make a pocket sometimes” and they quiet down. And then Zack makes out with someone's date and she quietly wipes the floor with all the assholes busy underestimating her. It’s not rocket science, but it’s an excellent system.

The bar is a smoky loud mess and the pool table is too small and the rails are clearly warped and everyone is just shy of wasted and Trini is right at home. The noise is enough to make conversation pointless and Zack is swaying to the music and signing them up for a game and okay, this might not have been a terrible idea.

She’s almost fallen asleep leaning against the wall, beer in hand, when Zack abruptly reappears right in front of her with windmilling arms and a stupidly wide grin.

“We’re up!”

Zack’s smile is lopsided and tipsy and happy and Trini downs her beer and walks over to the table. There’s a kid in a polo shirt looming over the table next to his girlfriend and Trini relaxes. Easy money.

*

“Good game,” the guy hands her a twenty and shuffles away. His girl glares a little but Trini knows Zack got her number so she shrugs, folds the bill carefully into her pocket, and flips her off. She’s nursing beer number three and the haze has settled over her comfortably. Three games, three clean cut boys nursing bruised egos, three nothing and Zack hasn’t asked for his cut yet.

They have to be polite and let someone else play a game, lest they attract too much attention for holding the table all night, but it’s a good excuse to get some fresh air anyway.

“There’s a couple on the board ahead of us, but we’ve got next,” Zack says. He has yet to actually touch a cue but Trini likes that he handles the negotiations. “If they lose we’re up against Mr. Wholesome over there.”

Trini glances in the direction Zack is pointing his chin and sees probably the most glaringly college football guy she’s ever seen in her life. He’s surrounded by a gaggle of giggling cheerleader types and is managing to actually look discomfited by the entire situation. He moves to shake the hand of his opponent and doffs his baseball cap with an easy grin and Trini grimaces and leans her cue against the wall.

“Whatever. We can take him. Get me a shot.”

“Sure, crazy girl, but his partner is supposed to be good so have some water too.”

Trini puts her hair up in a loose bun and grabs Zack’s drink. It’s finals week and she’s done with schoolwork and they’ve fleeced three morons. She can be tipsy if she damn well chooses.

Zack laughs at her and moves over to the bar for more drinks.

The bar has gotten louder, if that’s even possible, and Trini is trying to wobble her way across the damp floor, snapback pushed down low,  _this_ close to sliding her headphones over hear ears to block the noise and has almost managed to make it out the door when someone knocks her into the jukebox.

“Watch it!”

“Sorry!” Trini plants her feet more steadily and glares up at the offending party, ready to start a fight on the counsel of three beers and a winning streak, but an un _fairly_  gorgeous girl is laughing down at her and reaching out to steady her, hands soft on her shoulders. “Should have watched where I was going.”

Trini is only barely on this side of having accepted that girls, were in fact, not awful to look at and this  _terrible_  person is walking around looking all tall and sultry specifically to torment her, she’s completely certain. Who even needs that much leather?

“It’s okay.” It’s not okay _, she's_  not okay, there are alarm bells in her head ringing out with _Danger, Will Robinson_ because how is this girl so  _pretty?_

“I was just going outside for some air, is that where you were headed?”

“Yes.”

Monosyllabic is cool, right? Zack had tried to explain talking to girls, but so far Trini had mostly just glowered a lot and determined that it would eventually intrigue women enough to get them to come to her.

“Out. Yes. Outside. Going. I’m going outside.”

Okay, so, maybe not so much monosyllabic, but people like specifics, right? Trini had read that somewhere.

The girl grins at her and okay, well, if Trini weren’t sure that it was all in her head she would think the grin was downright predatory. In the background, Zack gives her a thumbs up and waggles his eyebrows and Trini wants to sink through the floorboards.

“Who’s your friend?” Zack skips over to them and his eyebrows are basically moving at warp speed now as he hipchecks Trini and gives the other girl a once over. He’s staggering under the weight of all the drinks while trying to maintain the appropriate level of glee about Trini’s sudden onset crush.

The girl looks between the both of them and brushes along Trini’s arm as she steps up to Zack. 

“Let me help you with that.” Unfairly Hot Girl is actually smirking at her as she takes a couple of shots and both pints from Zack. Nope, not imagining this, there is definite smirkage happening.

“Sure.” Trini is very proud of her answer. It's at least not word vomit, short and succinct and effective and--completely waved off when she tries to steady the glasses. They walk out the door together and the bouncer pretends to look the other way as the girl carries an armful of alcohol right past him. This girl clearly has super powers and Trini is definitely in love. Or trouble.  Maybe both.

“Sorry about bumping into you…”  She raises one of her stolen drinks in a toast towards Trini, who almost chokes.

“Trini.” And fuck, she hadn’t even asked for a name, had just barely left the sentence hanging, what even is her brain doing--

“Kim,” the girl says, and steps right into Trini’s personal space, commandeering one of the shots and downing it and holding the other one up to Trini’s lips. Her other hand slides along Trini’s arm and tugs on her shirtsleeve.

 _Fuck._  

This is not normal, things like this do not happen to her. Things like this happen to  _Zack_ , and he knows how to words and what to do when a towering hot pillar of smirkage is holding a shot glass against your lips and fondling your arm.

Kim is looking at her like she’s daring her and Trini clearly has an inability to say no to hot girls because she’s sliding her hand up over Kim’s fingers and taking the shot glass and oh _god_ that’s vodka _._ She is going to have a word with Zack about that. She almost gags and spills down her chin and Kim steps in closer, boots nudging between Trini’s sneakers and hands curling around her elbows.

Out of the corner of her eye, the bouncer stops Zack as he tries to walk out with a drink but Kim’s fingers on her bicep drag her back to the present.  The music floats out the window and it’s something dumb and poppy and she cares absolutely not at all.

Kim skims a finger along the brim of Trini’s snapback, grasping it and spinning it around and letting one hand come to a rest buried in what remains of Trini’s bun. She leans in to discard the empty shot glasses on the windowsill by Trini’s head and trails her fingers up to her jaw. Trini holds her breath and Kim closes the distance between them, pausing for an inhumanly long second before brushing a kiss against the corner of Trini’s mouth, languidly licking up the vodka on Trini’s skin.

Trini goes glassy-eyed and speechless as Kim rocks back in her boots. Kim looks just as shocked for a moment, before she schools her features into a smirk so quickly Trini thinks she might have imagined the whole thing.

“Team Smartass, you’re up!” The walking North Face advertisement who had been up against College Football Guy calls sharply at them from the door, waving his cue sloppily.  Zack ducks to avoid getting beaned in the head and spills his beer on his shirt, face pink from the heat and the alcohol and the snooping.

Kim’s smirk turns downright cocky and Trini watches her saunter over to the door. College Football Guy pokes his head out and frowns.

“You said I could name the team, Jason,” Kim says, ducking under College Football Guy’s arm.

“Not funny, Kim.”

“But accurate.”  She glances back over her shoulder at Trini and tilts her head towards the pool table, licking at her lips and raising an eyebrow when Trini trips over her own feet.

*

They make their way over to the pool table, Kim picking her way over discarded bottle tops and beer sodden floor, looking for all the world like she isn’t aware that she’s in a dive bar. The football guy—Jason-- follows huffily along and Zack shakes in silent laugher as Trini tries in vain to slow her breathing. She sits down and hugs her middle, trying avoid eye contact with Kim.

“So hey, I’m Jason. That’s Kim. Which one of you are we playing?”

“Oh yeah, definitely not me,” says Zack. “Her,” he jabs a thumb in Trini’s direction. Trini kicks him.

“Rules?” asks Trini, carefully not looking at Kim.

“You know, just, sink all your balls and call the black. We play sloppy. Winners usually break but you guys can go first if you want.”

Zack looks annoyed at the mere hint of patronization but Jason remains oblivious, grinning amiably and tugging at the jacket tied around his waist.

Kim’s apparently finished her fruitless search for a cue that isn’t bent and saunters back, twirling the cue unnecessarily in a way that on anyone else would look silly. She winks at Trini and waves.

“Kim.”

“We’ve met,” Trini says. She can smell Kim's hair from when it had brushed against her collarbone when she'd been  _kissed._ Did it count as a kiss? Trini's not sure but there had definitely been lips involved, so it had to count, right?  

“I  _bet_ you have.” Zack shakes with laughter again and yep, Trini is going to have to murder him, beer tab or no, because there is a  _code_. 

“Oh yeah, Trini was nice enough to show me the outside seating area,” Kim says, and strips off her button down and jacket, leaving her in a tank top she may as well have gone without.

Trini pauses halfway through easing off the bar stool and the loud hum of the bar fades away as she takes in Kim’s defined forearms and perfect biceps and  _Jesus_  just a hint of muscles in her stomach and all she can think about is the non-kiss by the window, how she would love to just slide her hands up – 

“-nks.  _Trini.”_ The world rushes back, ushered in by Zack’s stage whisper, and it yanks her out of her stupor where she was absolutely not imagining anything inappropriate at all about Kim’s stomach and how it would feel under her hands.  She closes her mouth, refusing to meet Kim’s eyes and elbowing Zack as she finishes her awkward dismount, her shirt rucking up her torso and hands still too stuck in her fantasy to remember how to straighten it.

“Nice fish routine there, dude.” Zack’s not even bothering to hide his amusement.

“Shut up.”

“I’ll have a gin and tonic.” Now Kim is staring at _her_ stomach and Trini stumbles away, tugging her shirt to a more modest orientation. This was not the plan; this was not the plan at all.  She and Zach were supposed to go home rich enough for a fancy brunch tomorrow, not broke because her hands are too shaky to even hold her credit card properly, much less a pool cue.

She doesn’t dare look back at the pool table as she shoves her way to the bar, ears burning and stomach roiling like she’d just dived off a cliff, sick with wanting something she still hasn’t quite articulated to herself.

She doesn't look at Kim lining up to take a shot, doesn't look at her bending over the table, doesn’t look at her forearms flexing, doesn't look at her ass as she adjusts her grip, and her ears  _definitely_ don't turn pink as she's caught not-staring by a smirking Kim. Trini drops her credit card on the floor. This is going to go great. Kim breaks and doesn’t miss a single shot and Trini loses before she’s even back with Kim’s drink.

Zack volunteers to get them another round of shots, and Kim blows a kiss in her direction.

Trini loses again but it's almost okay because Kim presses up against her side and slides her hard-won cash out of her pocket, yes, but she's also wrapping a bare arm around her waist and offering to teach her how to play properly. The  _properly_  is emphasized with a tone so suggestive that Trini decides to just give up, she is definitely not going to win anymoretonight. At pool, anyway.

Zack catches her eyes and laughs at her again.

*

10:17

hey hotstuff

10:18

zack gave me your number, hope you got home okay

10:24

pooltonight? :-x


End file.
